© Columbia University Press
Records of Dispossession: Palestinian Refugee Property and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
November, 2003
Cloth, 520 pages, 99 figures
ISBN: 978-0-231-12978-7
$50.00
/ £34.50
"The book will undoubtedly figure in discussions of the Palestinians' 'right of return.'" — Publishers Weekly
"[Fischbach] presents the most detailed and extensive discussion of the issues related to Palestinian refugee property available to the public to date . . . The volume is an important guide to primary data and is itself a source of previously unpublished information concerning Palestinian refugee property and the compensation issue." — Don Peretz, Middle East Journal
"definitive work...this is an excellent book which contributes new data and insight into the land question in the early years of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict" — Sally Bland, The Jordan Times
"This meticulously written book is the first of its kind to present a comprehensive description of the Palestinian refugee property issue. It is highly recommended... This book will no doubt form a basis for further research." — Daphne Tsimhoni, Digest of Middle East StudiesHebrew University of Jerusalem
"Fischbach's work is a thorough academic research based on ample Israeli, Arab, U.N., and other primary sources." — Arnon Golan, Shofar
"Fischbach, a professor of history at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, has stepped into this minefield with an important book." — The Canadian Jewish News
"This book is valuable and important in covering ground not investigated... and in offering readers access to materials largely unstudied." — Ylana N. Miller, American Historical Review
"An important piece of revisionist history." — International Journal of Middle East Studies
"An invaluable resource for those in charge of conducting the predictable tutorial after any settlement of the underlying conflict. . . .Fischbach's book will be a helpful resource in the implementation of any settlement of the conflict." — Arthur C. Helton, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
"A path-breaking book. He presents an extraordinarily meticulous review of enormous amounts of previously unavailable data on property losses by Palestinian Arabs (and by Jews). The volume will finally make possible serious discussion over ways to alleviate the personal and political consequences of 55 years of what can only be described as continuing theft. This volume will surely take its place alongside other great books about Arab-Israeli relations--books by Benny Morris, Gershon Shafir, Baruch Kimmerling, Yael Zerubavel, Beshara Doumani, and others whose work has replaced ignorance with information and propaganda with analysis." — Ian S. Lustick, author of Unsettled States, Disputed Lands
"Michael Fischbach has produced one of the most thorough and authoritative studies of Palestinian refugee property archives to appear in many years. His critical examination of the UNCCP records will make this book a standard reference for both the specialized scholar and policy makers addressing the future of refugees in the Arab-Israeli conflict." — Salim Tamari, New York University
"This thorough and balanced study will serve as the definitive and indispensable treatment of the important issue of compensation of the Palestinians who became refugees in 1948." — Rashid Khalidi, Middle East Institute, Columbia University
"Benjamin L. Hooks Outstanding Book Award Honorable mention:It is one of the most incisive, visionary, nuanced historical works I have read in over a decade. Hopefully, your pathbreaking, balanced work will inspire more equitable solutions to the troublesome questions of dispossession and redistribution." — D'Ann R. Penner, Ph.D., Co-Director, Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change